According to the BBC: Morocco has ambitious plans to export electricity from solar and wind farms to Europe, but should it prioritize renewable energy for its own market?
“The resources that our country has could be one of the important answers to Europe’s needs,” said Moroccan energy entrepreneur Moundir Zniber. “I think Morocco has the best chance to wean the continent from its current dependence on Russian gas,” he said.
Over the past 15 years, Mr. Zniber has built his Gaia Energy company into one of the leaders of Morocco's renewable energy revolution. "Morocco has some of the best solar and wind resources in the world. We have no oil and no natural gas, but we have amazing renewable energy potential," he said.
The Russo-Ukrainian war has prompted European countries to step up efforts to use clean energy to fight climate change. Morocco wants to be part of the solution to Europe's energy crisis. Morocco is on Europe's doorstep and has ambitious plans to generate 52 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, and hopes to export renewable energy in large quantities to Europe via submarine cables.
But for now, Morocco still needs to build more solar and wind farms. The North African country of 39 million people currently imports 90 percent of its energy needs, much of it from fossil fuels. In 2021, about 80.5% of Morocco's electricity production will come from burning coal, natural gas and oil. In comparison, only 12.4% came from wind and 4.4% from solar.
Moundir Zniber's Gaia Energy is developing wind, solar and green hydrogen projects in 12 African countries. Morocco has already made some real progress in promoting renewable energy generation through the huge Noor Ouarzazate solar thermal project. The first phase of the project was put into operation in 2016, which is currently the largest solar thermal power plant in the world. The project uses mirrors to reflect and focus sunlight onto a "receiver" in a central tower, which heats a fluid to create steam that spins turbines to generate electricity. The facility is being developed by Saudi Arabian company ACWA Power, with financing from the World Bank and the European Investment Bank.
Mr Zniber said private Moroccan companies like his were now planning to export solar and wind power to Europe, as well as green hydrogen produced from renewable sources. He added that Gaia Energy is developing wind and solar schemes that could meet 4 percent of Germany and Italy's electricity needs. "In terms of green hydrogen, our company is developing six projects that can meet 25% of the EU's needs."
Meanwhile, British energy start-up Xlinks plans to build a subsea cable from Morocco to the UK, hoping that Morocco's solar and wind power could supply 8% of the UK's electricity needs by 2030.
Increasing solar and wind power generation in Morocco could help boost the country's economic growth, the World Bank said. The benefits include decoupling from "the wild swings in fossil fuel prices," said Moez Cherif, the World Bank's chief economist for the region. Mr Cherif added that in a country with an unemployment rate of 11.2 per cent, renewable energy could create as many as 28,000 much-needed new jobs a year. He also said it would allow Morocco to "position itself as an export hub for green products", such as the manufacture of cars using renewable energy.
However, the World Bank estimates it will cost Morocco $52bn (£41.6bn) to meet its 2030 renewable energy targets, most of which will have to come from the private sector. Morocco's energy transition and sustainable development minister, Leila Benali, said the country's slow growth in renewable energy in recent years was partly due to global factors. “The world has just emerged from a historic pandemic with completely dislocated supply chains and value chains, which has also affected renewable energy, including supply chains for solar photovoltaics and wind turbines,” she said.
She acknowledged, however, that Morocco also has some internal hurdles to overcome. These include "speeding up and streamlining bureaucracy", including ensuring companies "get land permits relatively quickly to ensure investors get the opportunities they want". Ms Benali added that the Moroccan government's energy strategy is based on three pillars, namely increasing renewable energy, increasing efficiency and greater integration into international energy markets.
Asked whether it made sense for Morocco to export green electricity until it met its own needs through renewable energy, Ms Benali said Moroccans' "priority" was access to green energy at the "lowest cost". She added there was also a need to take advantage of the "historic opportunities" to integrate with European energy markets, which would spur much-needed private investment.
At the COP27 climate change conference in Sharm el-Sheikh last November, Morocco signed a memorandum of understanding with France, Germany, Portugal and Spain to facilitate cross-border electricity sales. However, Ms Hajar Khalmichi, a climate change activist from the Mediterranean Youth Climate Network, said that before considering exporting electricity, she would like to see Morocco meet all of its domestic energy needs from renewable sources, which she believes account for 52 percent of its electricity. The goal is not enough, it should completely wean off dependence on natural gas, oil and coal for power generation.
The Moroccan government argues that it faces similar challenges to other countries in terms of renewable energy, needing gas to deal with the fact that "the wind doesn't always blow and the sun doesn't always shine". "(Moroccan) gas is likely to play a transitional role" as the transition from fossil fuels to renewables takes place gradually over the next few decades, said the World Bank's Mr Cherif. Moundir Zniber added that Morocco needs "mixed" energy sources. "Renewable energy is part of the solution when it comes to electricity."